Horchata de chufa is Valencia's defining drink: a sweet iced beverage made from Alboraya tigernuts, served with long soft fartons for dipping.

Horchata de chufa (tigernut milk) was brought to Valencia by the Moors in the 8th century. The chufa, a small earth-almond tuber, has been grown in the Alboraya huerta north of Valencia since then. The drink is made by soaking the chufas, grinding them, and pressing the milky liquid; the resulting drink is sweetened, iced and served in tall glasses. Horchateria Daniel scaled the family's Alboraya horchata into a city-wide brand from 1949. Fartons (long soft sticks) were invented specifically for dipping into horchata, with Polo the canonical maker (brand founded 1939 in Titaguas, moved to Alboraya in 1960).

Where to eat Horchata con fartons in Valencia

2 editor picks for Horchata con fartons in Valencia, ranked by editorial score. All Valencia signature dishes · Horchata con fartons across every city.

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Make it at home

Serves 424 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 250g whole dried chufas (tigernuts)
  • 1 litre cold water
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 strip of lemon peel

Method

  1. Soak the chufas in cold water for 12 to 24 hours until they soften. Drain.
  2. Blitz the soaked chufas in a high-speed blender with 1 litre of fresh cold water for 4 minutes.
  3. Strain the mixture through a fine cheesecloth or a nut-milk bag, pressing hard to extract all the milk.
  4. Pour the chufa milk into a saucepan with the sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Warm gently to dissolve the sugar; do not boil.
  5. Strain again, chill for 4 hours. Serve very cold in tall glasses.

Editor tip. Use real Alboraya chufas if you can find them (Spanish online shops ship). The horchata must be served very cold; some traditional places serve it semi-frozen as a granizado.

Common allergens: Gluten (in fartons).